Pump



Apr. 3,

G. B. MAEGLY PUMP Filed Jan. 5l, 1922 To all whomz't may conceom Patented pr. 3, 1923.

A(vOiBG'E B. MAEGLY, 0F HOUSTON, TEXAS.

PUMP.

Application led January 31, 1922. Serial No. 532,965.

Be it known that I, GEORGE B; MAEGLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Houston, Harris County, Texas, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Pumps, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the ar't to which it a pertains to make and use the same.-

y invention relates to pumps and has special application to pumps of the reciprocating type for use in pumping Huid from oil or water wells and is designed to meet a very pressing necessity.

In ordinary practice lsand and other foreign substances accumulate in and around the strainer or filtering device at the lower end of the well, and this sand clogs and obstructs the same to such an extent that it becomes impossible for any oil or liquid tok v reach the pump. Under these conditions, it becomes necessary to suspend the pumping operation and-to remove the pump and tubing and to wash the'well. This operation not only "occasions the loss of. much time and production, but is very expensive; in some cases costing from $300 to $400. In extremely bad sand conditions this washing operation must be repeated as often as twice each week.

A11-item of great expense in the pumping of an 4oil well is occasioned by the wear, and the consequent. necessity for replacement, of the cup-leather piston packing of the pump. This wear is caused by sand settling in and around the cups and working down and between the barrel of the pump and the cups. As far as I am informed, no satisfactory method has been devised for washing or cleaning this sand away without pulling the piston `from the well. As a result, and under the 'reciprocating movement of the piston, the sand rapidly cuts and ruins the cups, thus requiring frequent pulling of the piston andinstalling new packing, which occasions not only loss of time in operation and consequently decreased production, but also increased expense of operation and cost of'new cu equipment. This, injthe majority of sma ler wells, makes the difference between operating at a proiit and operating at an actual loss.

In most ofthe smaller wells and in the ,Y case of some'of the larger ones, the loss of time and expense incident to lighting sand amounts to mor@ then the total' Vahle of th oil produced. As a result, thousands ofJ oil wells which would be otherwise productive are either temporarily shut down or permanently abandoned and junked with great economic lossy Vto the industry.` Therefore, some cheap and satisfactory method of meeting and eliminating these troubles is greatly desired, and to this end the principal object of my invention is to provide simple, positive and inexpensive means for' washing a sanded well Without having to pull the pump and tubing from the well.

A further object is to "provide means for dislodging any sand that may clog and obstruct the interstices or openings in the screen or4 strainer.

Another object is to provide means for projectingwater under high pressure into and outwardly through the openings of the strainer in order to loosen and dislodge any sand that may have packed outside the screen, and thus by agitation make the sand mobile and enable the pump to bring any sandor silt within the strainer, and to evacuate same with the regular operation of the pump.` i i A further object is to provide means not only for removing any obstruction from and A stillfurther object "is to `provide simple n and positive means for washing any accumulated sand from the leather packing cups ordinarily used on the piston, and thus not only prolong the lifeof the piston but also increase the working eiiciency of the pump.

Referring to the drawings herewith,

wherein like numerals of reference are-applied to like parts throughout the several views` Figure 1 is a central longitudinal sec-v tion through a pump barrel equipped with .my'improvement Fig. 2 is a similar view showing some of the parts in a different position. Fig. 34 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1

Inthe drawing I have shown my improvement as applied to a pump equipped with a working barrel 1, the lower end of which is threaded for attachmentvby means of a coupling 2 to a strainer 3. The strainer 3 sintende@ @represent any Ordinary type of strainer, and I have shown for this purpose the usual perforated pipe commonly employed. The lower end of the strainer is'shown as equipped with a perforated cap,

to protect the same in operation.

At the lower end of the working` barrel 1, I have lixed a foot valve comprising a downwardly extending sleeve or tube 5, the upper end of which is extended laterally to form an annular flange 6 to be clamped within "the coupling 2 and between the adjacent ends of the working barrel and strainer respectively. The upper end is closed except for av central valve passage 7 formed into a seat for an ordinary type of upwardly opening ball valve 8. l

' The 'upper end of the working barrel 1 is threaded for some distance downwardly to provide attachment for a coupling 9.`

This coupling extends outwardly and upwardly and is threaded at 10 for attachment .to a short length of pipe 11 secured at its upper end to a similar coupling 12 by means of which it is joined to the lower end lof the tubing 13. TheA working barrel is extended upwardly within the chamber 14 formed within the pipe 11 to a point spaced somewhat from the lower endof the tubing 13as shown in the drawing. The working barrel within this chamber is perforated toward the lower end of said chamber at 15 to provide a liuid passage,A the purpose of which will be later explained.

Within the working barrel 1 a plunger of l thel ordinary reciprocating type is adapted to operate. The plunger which I prefer to use comprises a lower tubular portion orv head 16, threaded exteriorly at its lower end for attachment to a cap- 17.` This cap extends downwardly a slight distance below the end of the plunger and has a cross supporting member 18v shown particularly inv Fig.l 3. This cross piece is perforated centrally and threaded for attachment with a downwardly projecting pinL 19. The said pin19 is slightly longer than is the working stroke of they piston and has at its lower end "an enlarged head 20.

At the upper end of the head 16 of the plunger the diameter of thetube is enlarged at 21 to provide a ,valve chamber at theA lower end of which the fluid passage is formed into a valve seat 22 to accommodate lthe ball valve 23. 'At the upper end' of the chamber is a cross pin .24 to limit the .up-

'wai-'dimovement of the valve.' The upper end of the valve chamber isadapted Ifor connection .with a sucker rod. Iii Fig. 1 I have shown this chamber threadedl interiorly for connection with a hollow sucker rod 25.l It

is obvious however, that the usual solid sucker rod may beY used, and in Fig. 21 have shown the upper end of the valve chamber connected by'means of a plug or coupling 26 to 'a solid sucker rod 25,', When' this sort of sucker rod is used the valve chamber 21 is erforated above the .pin 24C at 27, to furnis an outlet for the fluid being pumped.

In order to adapt my device for the 'occasional cleaning and flushing of the well .screenand strainer whilethe piston is still inthe well, I have devised means Jfor opening the valve passages past theq plunger and standing valve. At the lower end of the -pump barrel I contemplate raising the standing valve 8 from its seat. ,To accomplish this I use a ball grappling device comprising a short lengthof pipe '2S of such size as to {it loosely inside the working barrel. This pipe is threaded at its upper end for connection with a cap 29, said cap being provided with a central openin 30 therein,

to-allow a loose sliding connection with the pin 19 on the plunger. The opening 30 is' 28 does not, Contact in any way with theA valve, but when the tube is raised upwardly the curved lower ends thereof will contact with the sides of the valve'. and raise the valve from its seat inan obvious manner.l

Within the lower portion ofthe standing valve 5 I have secured a downwardly extendingimperforate pipe 32. This pipe projects downwardly to a point spaced somewhat fror'n the lowerlend of the strainer and 'serves as a means for more'eficient.

handling -of sand lwhichy may find entrance to the strainer; thus, sand entering through the `foraminations inthe strainer will fall downwardly toward the lower end thereof and'around the mouth ofthe pipe 32. The suction ofjthe pump will be thus enabled .to draw the sand within the fluid strainer upwardly past the standing valve 8 and the working valve 23 toward the' surface.

In'the operation ofxmy device the recipro-4 cation of the sucker rod will cause the plungerto move back and forth between the upper end of the tube or pipe 28 and the position shown in Fig. 1. Whilethe plunger is thus reciprocating, the pin 19 will .also work back and forth between the`- position shown in Fig. 4f1 and a positionslightly .above the foot valve,and in this operation, Vthe'said. pin will have no-function. *The working of the piston will draw the -fluid inwardly through the strainer and upward- 1y through the'suction pipe 32 and into the forming of the suction opening inA the pipe 32 toward the lower end of the strainer will serve to keep the sand moving and draw it upwardly during the pumping operation, to the surface.

When it is found that the oil is not entering the strainer properly due to clogging of the screen and strainer with sand, it becomes necessary' to clean away the sand clogging the openings therein. The plunger is then raised to a position shown 1n ig. 2 by hoisting on the sucker rod attached thereto. In that position the upper end of the packing cups 33 on the outer surface of the plunger will be raised to a point closely adjacent the upper end of the working barrel. The lower cups 33 will then be slightly above the openings 15 in the working barrel. In this position any fluid which may be within the working barrel above the' plunger may pass outwardly through the space 34 at the upper en'd of the working barrel into the chamber 14 and from thence through the openings 15 in the working barrel below the plunger.v The fluid will then find a passage past the standing valve 8 which has been raised from its seat by the member 28'and under gravity pressure will then pass 4outwardly through the strainerV and the screen. The head of fluid that may be standing in the tubing will ordinarily be suiicient to Hush the screen. It ,will -be obvious however, that liquid may be pumped from the surface to supply any deiciency of liquid in the tubing necessary to accomplish this purpose. I

I also contemplate the reciprocation of the plunger from the position shown in Fig. 2 and when the plunger is operated in this position, it will cause a surge or intermittent flow of -iiuid downwardly into the screen and outwardly through the openings therein and backwardly'again into the screen and up into thel working barrel. By thus agitating the fluid in the lower end vof the well the sand may be loosened and mixed with the liuidl to s uch an extent that the ordinary operation 'of the pump plunger thereafter will raise the fluid and sand upwardly to the surface. Ifzthis operation is continued a settling cavityfor oil will be formed outside the screen, thus increasin the production of the well.

enl the screen has been properlyv cleaned, the plunger may be lowered to its ordinary` position shown in Fig. 1 and the pumping operation may again proceed. It will thus be obvious that the strainer or screen may be cleaned atany time when it is found desirable,\without the withdrawal of the piston or Itubing from the well, and in fact, the piston itself may be employed to facilitate this operation, The producer is` thereby enabled to keep his pump operating continuously through long eriods without the usual loss of time and la or necessitated by Lthe withdrawal of the piston from the well. Furthermore, it will be apparent that when the fluid is pumped downwardly from the surface to clean the strainer, it will also serve to wash away any sand adhering about the plunger or the cups thereon, and tending to clog its operation. By thus removing the sand from about the plunger, the usual wear due to the presence of the sand, will be greatly reduced and the plunger will be thereby enabled to operate vfor much longer periods of time without the necessity of replacing the cups thereon.

The further advantages of my improvement' will be apparent to one skilled in the art. without further description.

by Letters Patent is:

` 1. In a device of the characterdescribed, the .combination with a pump for removing liquid from a well, of a sand screen forsaid pump, a pump barrel above said screen and a pump havinga supply of liquid abovethe same, f a sand screen for said pump, and

means for forcing said liquid downwardly through the barrel of said pump to flush and clean said screen.

4. In avdevice of the character described, the combination with a pump, a piston and a sand screen for said pumpl having a supply of liquid therein below said pump, and means including said p-iston for utilizing said liquid to scour and clean said screen without moving the pump from the Well. 5. In a device of the character described, the combination `with a sand screen, of a pump Jhaving a plurality of valves and means adapted for forcing liquid downwardly thru said pump past said valvesto wash and clean said screen.

6. In a device `of the character described screen at the lowerendthereof, a piston in said pump barrel above said well screen and means including said pump barrelto wash 'said screen free of sand without removing' said pump pistonfrom said pump barrel.v

' 7. In a pump havingv a reciprocating pisi ton, the combinatlon of a foot valve, a screen and means for simultaneously moving` the vpiston and unseating said valve to `clean the said valve and screen without removing same from the well.

8. In a ump, the combination with a pump barre ,`a iston therein having a channel to permit uid to pass therethrough, of means operable when the piston is raised above its normal operative position for establishing a second channel to enable fluid to pass around said piston and downwardly through said pump barrel.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination with a string of pipe having a screen thereon, of means comprising a pump-(barrel and piston therein adapted to force li uid up-wardly through said pipe and means for by-passing and forcing liquid at times around said piston land downwardly through said pipe and pump barrel, to said screen, to flush the same. ,20

'10. The combination with a pipe for conveying liquid, of a pump comprising a working barrel and a piston adapted for forcing liquid upwardly ,throughsaid pipe,

'a perforated tubular extension on said barrel adapted for receiving said piston at times toermit liquid to pass through said pipe in tige opposite direction.

11. -In a pump for deep wells, a working barrel, a standing valve connected therewith, a strainer below said valve and a vpiston in said working b-arrel, in combination with a liquid by-pass above the normal working position of said piston, and means connecting said piston and standing valve whereby the raising of said piston to the level of said tion with a liquid. by-pass above the normal working position ofsaid piston, a'valve lifting means enclosing said foo-t valve and va pin connecting said piston and valve lifting means whereby the raising of said piston to a point adj acent said by-pass will unseat said foot valve. 'l 13. In a pump, a string of tubing, a Working barrel, a piston reciprocable therein, and a coupling of larger iameter than said working barrel connected to said working barrel at a point below the upper end thereof and servin to space the tubing and workin barrelslightly apart, the working barre being perforated inside said coupling, for the urpose described.

141. T e combination with a pipe for conveyin liquid, of a working barrel and a piston a. apted for forcing liquid through said pi e in o-ne direction, a tubular extension on said barrel .adapted for receiving said piston at times, means for lifting the piston into said extension and means for then bypassing lliquid aroundv said piston and through said pipe in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my signature, this the 28th day, of January, A. D. 1922. v

' GEORGE B. MAEGLY. 

